Wednesday, March 30, 2011

The past days have been rainy and dreary, but we need the rain. I love these kind of days if I don't have to get out and drive in it. There is something about the rain hitting the window awnings that is so rhythmic and melodic . . . it is very soothing to me and I love sleeping in this kind of weather.

I've been spending less time on the computer and more time working on my home projects. Although I love my computer projects and blogs, I need to find that balance where I can do it all and not stress over anything. Nothing is worth stressing over!

Food has totally bored me, so I have been watching way too much of the Food Network, going through old recipes and visiting more food blogs than usual. I've got lots to add to my food blog, Gina's Italian Kitchen, where I post my old favorites, some new favorites and those recipes I haven't tried yet, but don't want to lose. More and more I list those new recipes rather than print them out and put them in my recipe book.

Or course I am still listening to music like I always do . . . Duran Duran is what I have been listening to today. Here is one of the first videos I created featuring the song "Falling Down" . . . one of my favorite songs by Duran Duran. Check out my YouTube Channel for more videos I created.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

It has been a sluggish week for me. Health problems continue to plague me, one thing after another. Needless to say, not much was done in the way of projects. I'm just exhausted from experiencing pain.

My blogs have been feeling a bit neglected since I really haven't had the energy to even think and write. Hopefully next week will find me feeling more energetic.

Maybe Tomorrow . . . one of my favorite songs that I created a video for best describes my mood for today. I love these lyrics from the song . . .

"I look around at a beautiful life, been the upperside of down, been the inside of out . . . but we breathe . . . we breathe"

I'm so grateful for a beautiful life with an awesome man who makes me so happy and brings me rainbow smiles every day . . . this song really fits today :)

It is my song of the day . . . and here is my video . . . LOVE THIS SONG!

Wednesday, March 23, 2011

I've been doing a series on my favorite songs on my music blog, Gina's Music Memories. Rather than repost an old post on that blog, I thought I would post a video I created here . . . a medley of songs that includes an awesome collection of photos from one of my favorite musicians of all time, Madonna.

Since I'm promoting my music blog . . . check out my You Tube Channel, where most of my videos are hosted. Creating videos is my newest hobby and obsession . . . check them out when you get a chance!

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

This month is flying by so fast . . . I guess time flies by when you are having fun, huh?

Since the news of the world has been such a bummer, I have tried to concentrate on doing fun things to take my mind off in another direction. Music continues to be my focus since my painting and craft areas are still torn apart. We all need a release to occupy our minds in troubling times and music has been it for me, although my hands are itching to make some jewelry and get crafty.

Even though I can't get around to keeping my hands busy with making jewelry, I have been searching blogs to line up some projects that I can get excited about. That is part of the fun! I have many more awesome projects that I've discovered to post at LaBelladiva . . . lots of inspirational blogs to share with you too.

We are still working on garden clean up since all of my old containers and buckets are starting to crack and the weeds seem to be what have thrived in the garden. Although I am happy to see many of my plants coming back from the roots. In the meantime, we are giving lots of thought to garden design and landscape ideas since the outdoors is like having more rooms to live in. Check out my gardening blog Subtropical Gardening for some inspiration and lots of gardening information.

All in all, there are not enough hours in the day to do everything that I need and want to do . . . and have fun too. My fun time this week has been creating music videos for my blog Gina's Music Memories. I'm loving this new hobby!

We are in extremely troubled times in this world . . . keep your hands busy and your mind occupied . . . it helps to cope with that helpless feeling.

Have an awesome day and don't forget to check out some of my blogs . . .

Friday, March 18, 2011

Maybe it is because I have been through some rough financial times in my life, but I am always searching for new ideas of how to use those things we usually throw away or find in nature.

The Captain and I went shopping today and saw the cutest wind chimes made out of shells. It was a very simple design and we stood in the isle of the store looking at every angle of it to see how it was made. They wanted something like $10.00 for something that would cost us nothing from stuff we have at home. I love wind chimes . . . the sounds can be so soothing.

While my recycling ways teamed up with a little creativity can be a gift of making something for nothing, they can also be a curse. What to do with all that stuff that you will find another use for on another day?

This week has been about throwing out stuff . . . spring cleaning. What is funny is when one of us decides something needs to be tossed out, the other wants to keep it! We still managed to gather quite a few trash bags of stuff to toss out . . . it is a start!

Have an awesome weekend :)

New blog posts . . .

LaBelladivaFunky Recycled NecklaceIf you are into recycling, making your own unique,
different jewelry that is bold, wild and funky,
you must check this out!

Wednesday, March 16, 2011

I'm so glad that I have music to take me to a different kind of mood when I'm feeling down. As much as I have tried to stay away from watching the news 24/7, I keep going back from time to time to see what's going on. So much devastation and more and more bad news by the minute had me teetering on the edge of becoming very depressed. It is that helpless feeling . . .

For me, listening to music is the equivalent of indulging in comfort foods when I'm feeling down. Today I listened to the awesome music of Heart to soothe my soul. One of my newest obsessions is making music videos from my favorite songs. It has been some time since I have taken the time to make a new one, so that is what is on my agenda after writing this post.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

The news of the day continues to be grim . . . actually grimmer by the day. I turned to happier thoughts of food and great food related memories after switching the television channel away from 24/7 news. Sometimes you just have to turn it off when it is so devastating . . . it can get overwhelmingly sad.

If you prefer following via Networked Blogs, use the box on the sidebar.

Thank you to followers of all of my blogs . . . I appreciate your comments and friendship! Hopefully the addition of my home page and different options to follow will help you keep up with my growing network of blogs and websites.

Friday, March 11, 2011

Yesterday I wrote about being hit by a computer virus. It didn't end with being inconvenienced at having to deal with everything involved in getting rid of the thing. No . . . the dirtbag messed with my Google account.

As a result of suspected malicious activity, Google shut down my entire account. I couldn't even get into my email and it appeared as though my blogs had been removed. I was beyond upset, as any blogger who works hard year after year on their blogs can relate to.

As mentioned in yesterday's post, I do everything I am supposed to do as far as computer security is concerned . . . and I still got burned. Let this be a lesson in computer security . . . keep your virus definitions updated and run scheduled scans on a daily basis.

The news has made me very sad today with the earthquake in Japan and the domino effect it has had on the rest of the world. I wrote about it in my blog, Peace Love Happiness . . . the link is listed below. My prayers are with those affected.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Finally . . . I've got my home page running again! This is where I will list all of the new posts to my blogs and new happenings at my websites and other spaces on the web.

Even with all the precautions I take in my online endeavors, I caught a virus. What a hassle, especially since I just set up my new hard drive last week. The thought of someone being so malicious to go through the trouble to set up these things really makes me angry! There is a special place in hell for these people, they are totally evil . . .

Last week found me in burn out mode as far as my computer activities go after my external drive failed, followed by my hard drive . . . it happens! As a result, I have cut out a bunch of my routine computer activities and I'm back to my blog loving self.

Loving the gorgeous Florida weather of the past week or so . . . we have enjoyed having our meals outdoors and a place to relax and unwind without freezing. A cold front will be cooling things off a bit for the next week . . . I'm hoping it will kill the mosquitoes that have already descended upon us.